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ABSTRACT
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LIST OF FIGURES
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CONTENTS
Certificate ii
Acknowledgement iii
Abstract iv
List of figures v
Contents vi
1 Introduction 1
2. Literature Review 3
3. History of rockets 4
4. Construction of cryogenic engine 5
5. Principle 6
6. Components of cryogenic engine 7
7. Working 14
8. India’s first cryogenic engine 15
9. Next Generation of Rocket Engine 16
10. Advantages 17
11. Disadvantages 18
12. Conclusion 19
13. References 20
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1. INTRODUCTION
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Oxygen(LOX) which provide a specific impulse of 445 seconds, almost double that of
hydrazine.
To liquefy hydrogen has to be cooled to a temperature of minus 273C. It`s boiling
point is 20K only just above absolute on the temperature scale.
Fuelling the booster rockets is a complex and hazardous process, for as soon as
oxygen comes in contact with hydrogen, they spontaneously combust in a powerful
explosion. Over the years cryogenic engines have become the backbone for boosters,
used for placing heavy payloads in space, such as those used for the main engine for
the space shuttle.
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2. Literature review
The purpose of this paper is developing a method for simulation of a cryogenic staged
combustion-closed cycle engine. Since, aerospace systems are usually complicated and
important the simulation task becomes extremely important. If the propulsion system
of space vehicle is not successfully simulated, then designers must rely on huge tests
which are time and money consuming and also dangerous. The mathematical model of
the engine includes a set of equations which describe all the system's elements
operation. These equations correspond to mass, momentum and energy conservation
principles and are simplified to make easy the process of calculations. [1]
This paper is all about the rocket engine involving the use of cryogenic technology at a
cryogenic temperature (123 K). This basically uses the liquid oxygen and liquid
hydrogen as an oxidizer and fuel, which are very clean and non-pollutant fuels
compared to other hydrocarbon fuels like: Petrol, Diesel, Gasoline, LPG, CNG, etc.,
sometimes, liquid nitrogen is also used as an fuel. The efficiency of the rocket engine
is more than the jet engine. As per the Newton’s third law of mechanics, the thrust
produced in rocket engine is outwards whereas that produced in jet engine is inwards.
[2]
This paper is tell about design issues of liquid propellant engines are addressed,
demonstrating a clear need for a new approach in engine development taking into
account the complex chemical and physical processes in rocket engines. A brief
description about the organization of the research programs is followed by a short
presentation of the test facilities and the experimental setup’s in use. [3]
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3. HISTORY
3.1 History of Rockets
The mighty space rockets of today are the result of more than 2,000 years of invention,
experimentation, and discovery. First by observation and inspiration and then by
methodical research, the foundations for modern rocketry were laid.
Galileo Galilei, (1564 to 1642) - In addition to his many other accomplishments, this
Italian astronomer and mathematician rekindled the spirit of scientific experimentation
and challenged old beliefs relating to mass and gravity. He proved that an object in
motion does not need the continuous application of force to keep moving. He called
this property of matter, which causes it to resist changes in velocity, “inertia.”
Newton’s Laws of Motion, (1642 to 1727) - English scientist Sir Isaac Newton
condensed all rocket science into three elegant scientific laws. Published in
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica his laws, previously understood
intuitively by early racketeers, provided the foundation for all modern rocket science.
Robert H. Goddard, (1882 to 1945) - American college professor and scientist
Robert Goddard built and flew the world’s first liquid propellant rocket on March 16,
1926. Its flight, though unimpressive (it climbed only 12.5 meters), was the
forerunner of the Saturn V Moon rocket 43 years later.
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4. Construction of cryogenic engine
Where,
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5. Principal
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6. Components of cryogenic engine
The major components of a cryogenic rocket engine are: combustion chamber (thrust
chamber), pyrotechnic igniter, fuel injector, fuel cryopumps, oxidizer cryopumps, gas
turbine, cryo valves, regulators, the fuel tanks, and rocket engine nozzle. In terms of
feeding propellants to combustion chamber, cryogenic rocket engines (or, generally,
all liquid-propellant engines) work in either an expander cycle, a gas-generator cycle,
a staged combustion cycle, or the simplest pressure-fed cycle.
The cryopumps are always turbopumps powered by a flow of fuel through gas
turbines. Looking at this aspect, engines can be differentiated into a main flow or a
bypass flow configuration. In the main flow design, all the pumped fuel is fed through
the gas turbines, and in the end injected to the combustion chamber. In the bypass
configuration, the fuel flow is split; the main part goes directly to the combustion
chamber to generate thrust, while only a small amount of the fuel goes to the turbine.
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engine can generate almost 1.8 meganewtons (MN) or 400,000 lbf of thrust at lift off.
The engines are capable of generating a specific impulse of 453 seconds in a vacuum,
or 363 seconds at sea level (exhaust velocities of 4440 m/s and 3560 m/s respectively).
Overall, a space shuttle main engine weighs approximately 3.2 t (7,000 lb). The
engines are removed after every flight and taken to the Space Shuttle Main Engine
Processing Facility (SSMEPF) for inspection and replacement of any necessary
components.
The Space Shuttle's rocket engines are capable of operating at extreme temperatures.
The liquid hydrogen fuel is stored at −253 degrees Celsius (−423 degrees Fahrenheit).
However, when burned with liquid oxygen, the temperature in the combustion
chamber reaches 3,300 °C (6,000 °F), higher than the boiling point of iron. Each
engine consumes 1,340 liters (340 gallons) of propellant per second. If the engine
pumped water instead of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, an average-sized
swimming pool could be drained in 75 seconds - or 25 seconds for the sum of the three
used for the space shuttle launch.
The engines perform as follows: Fuel and oxidizer from the external tank enters the
orbiter at the orbiter/external tank umbilical disconnect and then the orbiter's main
propulsion system feed lines. There the fuel and oxidizer each branch out into three
parallel paths, to each engine. In each branch, prevalves must be opened to permit flow
to the low-pressure fuel or oxidizer turbopump.
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turbine. The main pump boosts the liquid oxygen's pressure from 2.9 to 30 MPa (420
to 4,300 psi) while operating at approximately 28,120 rpm. The HPOTP discharge
flow splits into several paths, one of which is routed to drive the LPOTP turbine.
Another path is routed to and through the main oxidizer valve and enters into the main
combustion chamber. Another small flow path is tapped off and sent to the oxidizer
heat exchanger. The liquid oxygen flows through an anti-flood valve that prevents it
from entering the heat exchanger until sufficient heat is present to convert the liquid
oxygen to gas. The heat exchanger utilizes the heat contained in the discharge gases
from the HPOTP turbine to convert the liquid oxygen to gas. The gas is sent to a
manifold and is then routed to the external tank to pressurize the liquid oxygen tank.
Another path enters the HPOT second-stage preburner pump to boost the liquid
oxygen's pressure from 30 to 51 MPa. It passes through the oxidizer preburner
oxidizer valve into the oxidizer preburner and through the fuel preburner oxidizer
valve into the fuel preburner. The HPOTP measures approximately 600 by 900 mm
(24 by 36 inches). It is attached by flanges to the hot-gas manifold.
The HPOTP turbine and HPOTP pumps are mounted on a common shaft. Mixing of
the fuel-rich hot gas in the turbine section and the liquid oxygen in the main pump
could create a hazard. To prevent this, the two sections are separated by a cavity that is
continuously purged by the MPS engine helium supply during engine operation. Two
seals minimize leakage into the cavity. One seal is located between the turbine section
and the cavity, and the other is between the pump section and cavity. Loss of helium
pressure in this cavity results in an automatic engine shutdown.
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the LPFTP permits the HPFTP to operate at high speeds without cavitating. The
LPFTP operates at approximately 16,185 rpm. The LPFTP is approximately 450 by
600 mm (18 by 24 inches). It is connected to the vehicle propellant ducting and is
supported in a fixed position by the orbiter structure 180 degrees from the LPOTP.
The HPFTP is a three-stage centrifugal pump driven by a two-stage, hot-gas turbine. It
boosts the pressure of the liquid hydrogen from 1.9 to 45 MPa (276 to 6,515 psia). The
HPFTP operates at approximately 35,360 rpm. The discharge flow from the
turbopump is routed to and through the main valve and then splits into three flow
paths. One path is through the jacket of the main combustion chamber, where the
hydrogen is used to cool the chamber walls. It is then routed from the main
combustion chamber to the LPFTP, where it is used to drive the LPFTP turbine. A
small portion of the flow from the LPFTP is then directed to a common manifold from
all three engines to form a single path to the external tank to maintain liquid hydrogen
tank pressurization. The remaining hydrogen passes between the inner and outer walls
to cool the hot-gas manifold and is discharged into the main combustion chamber. The
second hydrogen flow path from the main fuel valve is through the engine nozzle (to
cool the nozzle). It then joins the third flow path from the chamber coolant valve. The
combined flow is then directed to the fuel and oxidizer preburners. The HPFTP is
approximately 550 by 1100 mm (22 by 44 inches). It is attached by flanges to the hot-
gas manifold.
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connected to the HPOTP and the oxidizer preburner pump. The fuel preburner's
outflow drives a turbine that is connected to the HPFTP.
The speed of the HPOTP and HPFTP turbines depends on the position of the
corresponding oxidizer and fuel preburner oxidizer valves. These valves are positioned
by the engine controller, which uses them to throttle the flow of liquid oxygen to the
preburners and, thus, control engine thrust. The oxidizer and fuel preburner oxidizer
valves increase or decrease the liquid oxygen flow, thus increasing or decreasing
preburner chamber pressure, HPOTP and HPFTP turbine speed, and liquid oxygen and
gaseous hydrogen flow into the main combustion chamber, which increases or
decreases engine thrust, thus throttling the engine. The oxidizer and fuel preburner
valves operate together to throttle the engine and maintain a constant 6-1 propellant
mixture ratio. The main oxidizer valve and the main fuel valve control the flow of
liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen into the engine and are controlled by each engine
controller. When an engine is operating, the main valves are fully open.
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main injector and dome assembly is welded to the hot-gas manifold. The main
combustion chamber also is bolted to the hot-gas manifold.
The inner surface of each combustion chamber, as well as the inner surface of each
nozzle, is cooled by liquid hydrogen flowing through brazed stainless steel tube-wall
coolant passages. The nozzle assembly is a bell-shaped extension bolted to the main
combustion chamber. The nozzle is 2.9 m (113 inches) long, and the outside diameter
of the exit is 2.4 m (94 inches). A support ring welded to the forward end of the nozzle
is the engine attach point to the orbiter-supplied heat shield. Thermal protection is
necessary because of the exposure portions of the nozzles experience during the
launch, ascent, on-orbit and entry phases of a mission. The insulation consists of four
layers of metallic batting covered with a metallic foil and screening.
For a nozzle able to run at sea level, the SSME nozzle has an unusually large
expansion ratio (about 77) for the chamber pressure. A nozzle that large would
normally undergo flow separation of the jet from the nozzle which would cause
control difficulties and could even mechanically damage the vehicle. Instead the
Rocketdyne engineers varied the angle of the nozzle, reducing it near the exit. This
raises the pressure just around the rim to between 4.6 and 5.7 psi, and prevents flow
separation. The inner part of the flow is at much lower pressure, around 2 psi or less.
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6.6.7 Gimbal
The gimbal bearing is bolted to the main injector and dome assembly and is the thrust
interface between the engine and orbiter. The bearing assembly is approximately 290
by 360 mm (11.3 by 14 inches).
The low-pressure oxygen and low-pressure fuel turbopumps are mounted 180 degrees
apart on the orbiter's aft fuselage thrust structure. The lines from the low-pressure
turbopumps to the high-pressure turbopumps contain flexible bellows that enable the
low-pressure turbopumps to remain stationary while the rest of the engine is gimbaled
for thrust vector control. The liquid hydrogen line from the LPFTP to the HPFTP is
insulated to prevent the formation of liquid air.
6.6.8 Controller
An important innovation was the inclusion of an integrated controller in the engine
itself: the SSME controller. This digital computer (originally composed with two
redundant Honeywell HDC-601 computers, and later replaced with a system with two
redundant Motorola 68000 processors) has two tasks: control the engine and its
burning process, and check itself. This arrangement greatly simplified the wiring
between the engine and the shuttle, because all the sensors and actuators are connected
directly to it. Using a dedicated system also simplified the software and improved its
reliability.
Two independent computers, A and B, form the controller, giving redundancy to the
system. The failure of the system A will automatically switch to the system B without
impeding operational capabilities; the failure of the system B will provide a graceful
shutdown of the engine.
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7. Working
Cryogenic Engines are rocket motors designed for liquid fuels that have to be held at
very low "cryogenic" temperatures to be liquid - they would otherwise be gas at
normal temperatures. Typically Hydrogen and Oxygen are used which need to be held
below 20 K (-423°F) and 90 K (-297°F) to remain liquid.
The engine components are also cooled so the fuel doesn't boil to a gas in the lines that
feed the engine. The thrust comes from the rapid expansion from liquid to gas with the
gas emerging from the motor at very high speed. The energy needed to heat the fuels
comes from burning them, once they are gasses. Cryogenic engines are the highest
performing rocket motors. One disadvantage is that the fuel tanks tend to be bulky and
require heavy insulation to store the propellant.
The Space Shuttle's main engines used for liftoff are cryogenic engines. The Shuttle's
smaller thrusters for orbital maneuvering use non-cryogenic hypergolic fuels, which
are compact and are stored at warm temperatures. Currently, only the United States,
Russia, China, France, Japan and India have mastered cryogenic rocket technology.
The cryogenic engine gets its name from the extremely cold temperature at which
liquid nitrogen is stored. Air moving around the vehicle is used to heat liquid nitrogen
to a boil. Once it boils, it turns to gas in the same way that heated water forms steam in
a steam engine. A rocket like the Ariane 5 uses oxygen and hydrogen, both stored as a
cryogenic liquid, to produce its power. The liquid nitrogen, stored at -320 degrees
Fahrenheit, is vaporized by the heat exchanger. Nitrogen gas formed in the heat
exchanger expands to about 700 times the volume of its liquid form. This highly
pressurized gas is then fed to the expander, where the force of the nitrogen gas is
converted into mechanical power.
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8. India’s First Cryogenic Engine (GSLV-D5)
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9. Next Generation of Rocket Engine
Generally any rocket engine burns their respective fuels to generate the thrust. If any
other engine has capacity to generate thrust efficiently then it can be called rocket
engine. Currently NASA scientists are working on ‘Xenon Ion Engine’ which
accelerates the ions or atomic particles to extremely high to create thrust more
effectively and efficiently by usage of electrostatic or electromagnetic force by the
principle of Lorentz force or Columbian force.
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10. Advantages
Storable liquid stages of PSLV and GSLV engines used presently release harmful
products to the environment.
This advanced propulsion technology is now available only with Russia and USA.
India capability to meet existing mission requirements. The semi cryogenic engine will
facilitate applications for future space missions such as the Reusable Launch Vehicle,
Unified Launch Vehicle and vehicle for interplanetary missions.
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11. Disadvantages:
Cryogens are highly concentrated gases and have a very high reactivity. Liquid
oxygen, which is used as an oxidizer, combines with most of the organic materials to
form explosive compounds. So lots of care must be taken to ensure safety.
2. Leakage
One of the most major concerns is leakage. At cryogenic temperatures, which are
roughly below 150 degrees Kelvin or equivalently (-190) degrees Fahrenheit, the seals
of the container used for storing the propellants lose the ability to maintain a seal
properly. Hydrogen, being the smallest element, has a tendency to leak past seals or
materials.
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12. Conclusion
As we have seen in the above project, we can say that the Cryogenic Rocket Engine is
the best rocket engine available at the time.
It can produce very high thrust by using gases like hydrogen and oxygen which are
freely and abundantly available in atmosphere.
The exhaust of a Cryogenic Engine is combination of hydrogen and oxygen i.e., water
only.
Till the next generation of very high thrust producing rocket engines the Cryogenic
Rocket Engine is the best rocket engine.
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13. References
[2] Cryogenic rocket engine by Akhil Chhaniyara ISSN 2278 – 0149 Vol. 2, No. 4,
October 2013
[6] George P. Sutton & Oscar Biblarz (2001). Rocket Propulsion Element (7th Ed.).
Wiley Interscience. ISBN 0-471-32642-9.
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